Kids affected by medical bills

For adults who are trying to make ends meet and have trouble paying their medical bills, new data finds the situation isn’t just affecting them.

The National Center for Health Statistics finds kids 17 and younger are the most likely of any age group to be living in a family that has recently had trouble affording their medical bills.

The data, released by government researchers, found that about 24 percent of children ages 17 and under are living in a family that has had trouble paying their medical bills in the past year. The chances of being in families experiencing the burdens of medical care decreased with age: Children were more than three times as likely as adults aged 75 and over to be in families having problems paying medical bills in the past 12 months.

Together, all the stats painted a sad picture: In the first half of 2011, one in three was in a family experiencing financial burden of medical care. One in five was in a family having problems paying medical bills, one in four was in a family paying medical bills over time, and one in 10 was in a family that had medical bills they were unable to pay at all.

These are early release estimates from the National Health Interview Study, conducted January-June 2011.